Howard Amos - Russia Starts Here: Real Lives in the Ruins of Empire

Howard Amos - Russia Starts Here: Real Lives in the Ruins of Empire

Howard Amos discusses his book "Russia Starts Here," a travelogue that illuminates Russia's Pskov region from its mediaeval history to the war in Ukraine. He talks about returning to Russia to complete his book in 2023, after most western journalists had left, and about how war, censorship, and overwhelming propaganda have changed the region and the country.

Sean Wiswesser - Tradecraft, Tactics, and Dirty Tricks: Russian Intelligence and Putin's Secret War

Sean Wiswesser, a retired CIA senior operations officer, discusses his book on Russian intelligence tactics from the Cold War to the 21st century.

Lucy Ash - The Baton and the Cross: Russia's Church From Pagans to Putin

Award-winning journalist and broadcaster Lucy Ash discusses her book The Baton and The Cross, which combines history and reportage to tell the story of church-state relations in Russia from ancient times to the war in Ukraine.

Marc Bennetts - The Descent: Witnessing Russia's Spiral Into Madness Under Putin

Marc Bennetts, a correspondent for the Times and Sunday Times, was forced to leave Russia in 2022, after living in the country for 25 years. His new book The Descent is a visceral memoir of his journalistic experiences and the cruel consequences of Kremlin propaganda

Pavel Otdelnov - Estates: Fragile Utopia

Pavel Otdelnov is a Russian artist who moved to London from Moscow in 2022. He works in various media and is best known for his projects about his hometown--the industrial city of Dzerzhinsk--and for his powerful visual metaphors for Soviet history and life in contemporary Russia. His latest exhibition, Estates: Fragile Utopia, is about postwar social housing projects in Britain, and their resonances with Soviet urban landscapes. It is on display at Lewisham Art House until April 20th, 2026